Chili Queen Chili
6 cloves garlic
½ large white onion, quartered
3 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
½ cup lard or vegetable oil (see note)
1 pound pork shoulder, cut into
½-inch dice
2 pounds beef chuck, cut into ½-inch dice
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
5½ cups water
3 cups dried chile paste (recipe follows)
1⁄3 cup masa harina
Instructions: Using a food processor, pulse the garlic, onion and serrano chiles to a fine dice, scraping down the sides as necessary. Set aside.
In a large Dutch oven, heat the lard or oil over medium heat; add the onion mixture and fry, stirring constantly until wilted (do not brown), about 2 minutes.
Increase heat to medium high and add the pork and beef and stir until the meat loses its color but not seared, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle salt, cumin, pepper and sugar over the meat and stir to combine. Pour in water and bring to a boil.
Skim foam off the surface. Reduce heat and simmer on medium-low for about an hour.
Add chili paste, stir well and cook for at least another hour or until the meat is tender.
Skim off excess fat (tester’s note: I took a full cup of fat from the pot).
Mix masa flour with enough hot water to make a loose slurry.
Slowly add to the chili and stir until thickened.
Chili can stay on a low simmer for hours until it’s ready to serve.
Note: Walsh’s original recipe calls for ½ cup beef tallow. We substituted lard instead; vegetable oil can be used. Makes about 8 cups or about 6 servings
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled 4 dried ancho chile
4 dried guajillo chile
4 dried New Mexico chile (or
dried Anaheim)
4 dried chile de arbol
11 cups water, divided
1 ½ teaspoons salt 2 tablespoons lard or
vegetable oil
Instructions: In a skillet or comal, toast unpeeled garlic cloves over high heat, turning several times to char the peel, about 3-4 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
Stem and seed the chili pods. In a large pot bring 8 cups of water to a boil and turn off heat. Place the chilis in the boiling water (they may have to be weighed down by a plate), put lid on pod and let steep off the heat for half an hour.
In a blender place reconstituted chilis, the peeled garlic, salt and three cups water (not the chile water) and process for 5 minutes to a smooth paste. Pass the purée through a strainer into a bowl using a spatula scraping the puree down through the strainer. Discard the solids.
In a skillet or pot over medium-high heat, melt the lard. Add the strained chile purée. Reduce to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Makes about 3 cups Adapted from “The Chili Cookbook” by Robb Walsh